Kent Bush: Obama's speech promised bold action

Wednesday

Feb 25, 2009 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2009 at 8:48 PM

Either he gave in to conservative calls for a cheerier outlook, or the happy pills have started to kick in. After the passage of President Barack Obama's stimulus bill, his tune changed from crisis and catastrophe to clarity and confidence.

Kent Bush

Either he gave in to conservative calls for a cheerier outlook, or the happy pills have started to kick in.

After the passage of President Barack Obama's stimulus bill, his tune changed from crisis and catastrophe to clarity and confidence.

"Our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this," Obama said Tuesday night. "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

Obama continued to strike the chord of responsibility -- for Americans, corporations and the government. He recognized the wounds hampering our economy were at least partially self-inflicted.

"Now, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit that for too long," Obama said. "We have not always met these responsibilities -- as a government or as a people. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we'll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament."

He even pointed out that his plan would increase government spending -- a policy Obama claimed ran against his normal mindset.

But these are not normal times, and normal answers won't get the economy moving again.

"As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery plan by Presidents Day that would put people back to work and put money in their pockets," he said. "Not because I believe in bigger government -- I don't. Not because I'm not mindful of the massive debt we've inherited -- I am. I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost more jobs and caused more hardships."

Not only did Obama try to deflect the criticism of increased taxes and spending that he knew would follow Tuesday's speech, he named his administration's top cop to oversee the progress of the stimulus package to guarantee waste is minimized and the benefits are maximized.

"I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort -- because nobody messes with Joe," Obama said to a mixture of applause and laughter.

After promising to propose a more accurate budget that cuts the deficit in half over the next four years, move quickly toward a responsible end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reform Medicare and Social Security, Obama summarized his message.

"I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground," Obama said. "And if we do -- if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, 'something worthy to be remembered.'"

Obama's first major address as president was everything you would expect from someone who used his abilities behind a podium to go from the middle of the pack to the top of the ticket during the primaries.

He identified the problem, laid out a rational plan and promised to perform adequate oversight to ensure the plan was carried out properly.

It was a message that brought hope to reality, recognized weaknesses and pointed out strengths that will help the country overcome them.

In fact, it was everything both sides of the aisle hoped it would be.

The Democrats saw true leadership and a plan that worked well within their party platform.

The Republicans saw it as a real definition as the difference between the two parties that will help them in elections in the future -- like it did in the Republican Revolution in 1994, two years after Bill Clinton took office. They also felt the pride in being able to pressure the president to change his tone. Many conservatives had been very disappointed with the "Chicken Little Syndrome" they saw recent comments imparting on the American people.

But for all the positives the Republicans may have felt about Tuesday night, the main thing in their favor is that there is plenty of time before the next presidential election.

Sarah Palin is the hope of many in the GOP, but her hometown newspaper led Wednesday's news with a story that she will have to pay back some travel money that she may have received unethically.

But Palin was certainly not displaced as the presumptive candidate by Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal.

Jindal gave the Republican response.

After a patently political ploy to reject a portion of the stimulus money that was due his state,

Jindal gave a response that would have received poor marks from his high school speech teacher.

His style was choppy and amateurish. His message was disjointed and uninspired.

He told stories from Hurricane Katrina about a sheriff who couldn't send boats in to help survivors because of insurance requirements and other bureaucratic red tape. Of course, his own party led the government who stopped him from performing those tasks at the time.

He brought up one of the worst managed chapters of the last administration.

His points were tired and his delivery revealed the weakness of his argument.

Even conservative pundits who are "in the tank" for the GOP saw the speech as a real set back to the party's ability to regain power in at least one house of Congress in a couple of years.

Tuesday night was a night of hope. But hope is not a strategy.

It will take hard work and dedication to ideals beyond personal pocketbooks and partisan politics to help reinvigorate this economy.

Augusta Gazette

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